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Jesus is a great teacher. He teaches with wisdom and great deeds of power. In Matthew 13 we find him teaching about the kingdom of heaven. He recognizes that at some point evil will be removed from the earth.

Jesus claims to be a prophet. He uses parables to teach so that those who are to hear do hear the message and those who are not to hear remain hard of hearing. Yet, he wants his disciples to understand so that they can record and pass down his message. He reveals to them the secrets that have been hidden since the beginning of the world.

Jesus walks among the people and uses agriculture as an illustrative tool. He teaches the crowds (strangers) along the shoreline, his disciples in a private home, and his family and neighbors in the synagogue.

Jesus is part of a family that includes brothers and sisters.

Big Idea: Jesus walks among the people teaching and prophesying about the kingdom of heaven.

Profound IdentityJesus left the house (Matthew 13:1).Jesus sat by the sea (Matthew …

“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. “ Genesis 1:27

This is the foundation of our identity as human beings – created beings made to reflect the image of God.As such, we are blessed with authority and abilities that no other living creation possesses.We create.We think.We value relationships.Our existence is a testimony to God’s existence. And as Christians, this identity becomes the heartbeat of our ethics.We make decisions and behave in manners that recognize the value of human life. We look at our relatives, our friends, our colleagues, and even the stranger on the street and take the time to see the image of God in each of them.We know that each and every life is precious, including our own. We also recognize the intimacy with God that this identity engenders.As ones created in God’s image, we are invited into a deep and purposeful relationship with God.One in which we are both respected and cherished, a…